Will Mellor has opened up about the effect his dad's death had on him and how it "changed his mindset", pushing him to do Strictly even though the though it "frightened" him.
The Two Pints of Lager star, 46, lost his dad Bill in April 2020, just two weeks after he was diagnosed with cancer.
At the time, his grief intensified as he was unable to comfort his family due to social distancing guidelines as the country had been in the grip of the Covid pandemic.
Speaking about why he had decided to take part in the BBC dancing show this year, after being asked to in the past, he said: "It was just the right timing.
"We have our reasons for when we do things in life and I would genuinely be frightened of doing stuff like this and saying no to stuff, because I was worried about what people will think and, 'If I do that, will that change that?'
"And then I lost my dad in 2020 and everything changed and it just crippled me. I thought, 'I've got to grab life, I've got to do stuff.' It really changed my mindset and I've just got to say yes to more things.
"I'm going to say yes to more stuff. I've got to grab life and create memories. Because that's what you end up in life - with memories. And it's my mum's favourite show and she's had the worst time of it, so I thought we've got to have a bit of positive in our lives."
He also gave his opinion the 'dark horses' in the show, revealing: "I was surprised by a few of them, I must admit. Some of the girls are unbelievable. Kym here can move, Fleur can dance, Helen can dance. When you say 'can dance', everyone can dance but you can see there's great talent."
*Strictly Come Dancing returns on Friday September 23 on BBC One
